Firefighters and other rescue workers often put themselves in harm's way. A firefighter may enter a burning building, filled with smoke and falling debris, and make his way through various rooms, hallways, stairwells, etc., in an effort to find a source of smoke or fire, to locate possible victims, and/or to secure a given area. Unfortunately, as a result of the dangerous environment, including fumes, heat, sharp objects, it is not too uncommon for a firefighter to be injured and or incapacitated in the course of his work. When this occurs, it is imperative that the firefighter be quickly located and evacuated from the area for treatment. However, in the event the firefighter (or other personnel) is, e.g., working alone, and an incapacitating injury occurs, or the firefighter simple wants assistance with whatever the task at hand might be, it is necessary for others to know where the firefighter can be found so that a rescue team or other assistance can be dispatched to that location. It is critical for a rescue team to know at least the specific floor and better if possible the specific room where a downed firefighter can be found so that rescue can be done quickly before he or she runs out of oxygen.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,559 to Saitta discloses a system for dynamic and automatic building mapping in which a tracker module is carried by a user and an optional command module which, together, operate to automatically map the rooms of a building as a user traverses the rooms of the building. The tracker module includes a transducer system that determines the present distance from the user to each of the walls of the room, the location of openings in the walls as well as an inertial guidance system that precisely locates the user with respect to a known reference point. The data produced by the tracker module of the automatic building mapping system can be transmitted to a centrally located command module so that multiple units can simultaneously be tracked and a mapping of the building effected from different perspectives to thereby create an accurate composite layout map. In addition, the user can receive a heads-up display to enable the user to visualize the layout of the building as the user traverses the various rooms of the building, and as concurrently mapped by other users in the building. In this way, an accurate virtual map of a given building can be created on demand by users moving through the rooms of the building. While the system disclosed in the foregoing patent may have certain advantages, it is relatively complicated to implement. Moreover, for purposes of locating an individual in a rapid and efficient manner, the system disclosed by Siatta may not be the most appropriate.
In another related technology, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0051768 A1 to DeKeyser discloses loop recording with book marking where recorded data can be transmitted wirelessly to another location. However, such a system is not necessarily suitable for rescue operations of the type noted above.
Accordingly, other systems and methods for locating personnel are desired.